Balé is one of the 45

provinces of Burkina Faso The regions of Burkina Faso are divided into 45 administrative provinces. These 45 provinces are currently sub-divided into 351 departments or communes. List of provinces by region Here is a list of the provinces, with their capitals in par ...

, located in its

Boucle du Mouhoun Region Boucle du Mouhoun is one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions. It was created on 2 July 2001 and had a population of 1,898,133 in 2019. It is the 4th most populous region in Burkina Faso, and contains 9.26% of all Burkinabé. The region's ...

with

Boromo Boromo is a town in the Boromo Department of Balé Province in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of both the department and the province, and it has a population of 20,193 (2019). Boromo is located directly between the two major cities of Burkina ...

as capital. Its area is , and had a population of 297,367 in 2019. The province is known for its Deux Balé Forest, populated by

savannah elephant The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body m ...

herds.

, the provincial capital, is located on the main road from

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

Bobo-Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking population (re ...

. In June 2007, the Canadian mining company,

Semafo SEMAFO Inc. was a Canadian-based mining company with gold production and exploration activities in West Africa until 2020 when it was acquired by Endeavour Mining. The name SEMAFO is an acronym for "Mining Exploration Society in West Africa". Its ...

, open the third gold mine in the country in Mana in the province, with an investment of about $116 million.

History

On November 15, 2008 a bus accident killed 69 people at Boromo. when a passenger bus transporting workers to Côte d'Ivoire collided with a commercial truck. Both vehicles burst into flames.

Geography

The province is known for its Deux Balé Forest, populated by

herds.

, the provincial capital, is located on the main road from

, and serves as a gateway to the park.

Demographics

Most people in the province live in rural areas; 277,165 live in the countryside with only 20,202 people residing in urban areas. There are 147,993 men living in Balé Province and 149,374 women.

Departments

Bale is divided into 10 departments:

Economy and services

In June 2007, the Canadian mining company,

, open the third gold mine in the country in Mana, with an investment of about $116 million. There is a hydroelectric station at Boromo, operated by the Société Nationale d'électricité du Burkina Faso (SONABEL) with 1,269 MWh. In 2011 the province had 164 primary schools and 22 secondary schools. In 2011 the province had 31 health and social promotion centers (''Centres de santé et de promotion sociale''), 4 doctors and 115 nurses.

References